changing-schools-in-year-guidance

You might make an in-year application if you: • are moving into or out of Cornwall; • moving house within Cornwall; • wish to change schools even if you are not moving house; or • if you

Changing schools

Applying for a place at a school in Cornwall

during the school year (‘in-year’)

www.cornwall.gov.uk/admissions

Last updated: January 2021

Where to get help

School Admissions Team

Family Information Service

For help with completing the application, understanding the process or other aspects of

starting at a new school, or if a parent/carer’s first language is not English, please contact

the Family Information Service

Telephone: 0800 587 8191

Introduction

An ‘in-year application’ is an application to change schools or join a school during the

school year i.e not at the normal points of entry (starting in reception, transferring to year

three in junior school or transferring to year seven in a secondary school)

You might make an in-year application if you:

• are moving into or out of Cornwall;

• moving house within Cornwall;

• wish to change schools even if you are not moving house; or

• if your child is currently home educated and you wish them to return to school

Changing schools is a significant step and often difficult to avoid because of a house move

There are also situations when a parent/carer might decide that they are not happy with

their child’s current school and have to make the difficult decision about whether or not to

apply for a change In this situation, we strongly recommend that you first talk to

someone at your child’s current school about your reason/s for considering a change as it

might be that any issues could be addressed without having to change schools

Before making an application you could consider:

• discussing any concerns with the headteacher, class teacher or other senior

member of staff at your child’s current school;

• contacting the Family Information Service (0800 587 8191)

If you decide to apply for a change of school, you may also wish to consider:

• transport: you should be aware that your entitlement to home to school transport

might change depending on where you are applying, even if you are not changing

your address (go to www.cornwall.gov.uk/schooltransport for more information);

• implications for secondary-age students: you should be aware of the possible

implications of your child not being able to continue studying the same

subjects/option choices and their existing coursework not being applicable to a

different examining body

Responsibility for in-year admissions

Cornwall Council co-ordinates in-year applications for participating schools in Cornwall

using a process set out in the ‘Co-ordinated Admissions Scheme (in-year)’ for the relevant

year which is summarised in this booklet

The Co-ordinated Scheme can be found at www.cornwall.gov.uk/admissions

Cornwall Council and schools must follow the School Admissions Code 2014 Each school

has an ‘admission authority’ which agrees the arrangements including the priority order

they will use if there are more applications than places available – the ‘oversubscription

criteria’ Cornwall Council is the admission authority for community and

voluntary-controlled schools For foundation, trust and voluntary-aided schools the admission

authority is the school’s governing body and for academies it is the academy trust

Participating schools

The In-year Co-ordinated Scheme which is summarised in this booklet applies to

participating schools only

Currently only one school does not participate in the Scheme:

Camborne Science and International Academy: www.cambornescience.co.uk

In this case you will need to apply direct to the school – please see page 6 for further

information

How to apply …

…if your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan

If your child has been issued with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) you do

not need to complete an application form as a school place will be identified through a

separate process However, if a request has been made for an EHC needs assessment for

your child, or your child is currently being assessed to decide whether an EHC Plan is

necessary, you will need to make an application using the normal process

Please contact the Statutory SEN Service for more information:

Tel: 01872 324242 Email: statutorysen@cornwall.gov.uk

See the section ‘Special Educational Needs’ later in this booklet for more information

…for a place at a school where Cornwall Council co-ordinates

admissions (a ‘participating school’)

The majority of schools participate in our In-year Co-ordinated Admissions Scheme You

can apply for those schools online: www.cornwall.gov.uk/changingschools or by requesting

a paper form from the School Admissions Team

…for a place at Camborne Science and International Academy

Currently there is one school – Camborne Science and International Academy – that does

not participate in our In-year Co-ordinated Admissions Scheme In this case you will need

to apply direct to the school – please contact the school for information on how to apply

Please note that the In-year Co-ordinated Scheme which is summarised in this booklet

does not apply to this school – they will have their own admission arrangements which

will be available on their website or on request from the school

Camborne Science and International Academy

About applying for a school place

Identifying your preferred schools

Before you make your decision regarding the schools you would prefer for your child you

may wish to visit several schools in order to find out more about them You should contact

the schools direct to arrange this You could also have a look at the schools’ websites or

ask for a copy of their prospectus Cornwall Council recommends that you visit your

preferred school prior to submitting an application for a school place

You are able to name up to three school preferences on your application form

Designated areas

Cornwall Council has divided the County into geographical areas called ‘designated areas’

which are each served by a specific school or schools Please note: your designated school

may not be the one nearest to your home address.

Some schools include living in the designated area as a priority in their oversubscription

criteria (the criteria they will use to decide on who should be allocated places when there

are more applications than places available) However, entitlement to transport to all

schools will be determined by Cornwall Council with regard to whether the school is in the

designated area for your address or is your nearest school

If you want to identify the designated school or schools for your address, access

www.cornwall.gov.uk/admissions or contact the School Admissions Team

Applying for a school outside Cornwall

If you want to apply for a school outside Cornwall you should contact the local authority

for the school where you want a place

Living outside Cornwall

If you do not currently live in Cornwall you can apply to Cornwall Council for a school place Please refer to the ‘Home Address’ section for more information on the information you

may need to provide

Applications from outside the United Kingdom

It is the responsibility of the parent/carer to check that their children have a right to study

at a school In the case of overseas nationals entering the United Kingdom parents/carers

should check that they have the right of abode or the conditions of their visas otherwise

permit them to access a state-funded school More information can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/schools-admissions-applications-from-overseas-children

Parents/carers will be required to provide a photocopy or scan of the child’s passport and

a visa (if appropriate) with their application All other provisions in this guidance apply to

applications from outside the United Kingdom, including those related to the home

address

Service Families (UK Armed Forces)

Cornwall Council acknowledges that Service Families may be disadvantaged when applying

for a school place as they are more likely to need to apply outside the normal admissions

round when schools may already be full or be unable to provide a specific address ahead of

a posting in good time for the relevant admissions processes There are certain legislative

provisions for the admission of children of Service Families and processes within Cornwall

Council which seek to address the disadvantage that might be experienced by Service

Families These are described in Cornwall Council’s Service Families Protocol available at

www.cornwall.gov.uk/admissions or from the School Admissions Team along with

signposting to sources of support and further information

Applications will be processed and places allocated based on the proposed address with

supporting evidence or, if you are not able to confirm a proposed address and a unit or

quartering address is provided, an allocation will be made based on the unit or quartering

address This is to ensure that your child is not left without a school place, although it is

accepted that you may want/need to change your preference when a new address is

confirmed in order to try to secure a school closer to that address The School Admissions

Team will then offer support and guidance, advising on available places and likely

timescales

Children in care/previously in care

Applications for children in care and children who were previously in care (but immediately

after being in care became subject to an Adoption, Child Arrangement, or Special

Guardianship Order) will be prioritised and a school place identified in accordance with this

scheme as well as the additional provisions of the separate Protocol for these children,

available at www.cornwall.gov.uk/admissions or on request from the School Admissions

Team Applications for children in care must be completed by the Social Worker

Home to school transport

You should be aware that your entitlement to transport might change depending on where

you are applying, even if you are not changing your address See details under ‘Home to

School Transport’

Applying for a place for more than one child

Please be aware that having a child admitted into a particular school does not guarantee a

place for their sibling(s) All schools have to follow their published oversubscription criteria

and cannot generally exceed their agreed admission numbers in order to place siblings at

the same school You should complete one application form for each child

Admission of children outside their normal age group

Parents may seek a place for their child outside their normal age group, for example if the

child is gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as ill health A school’s

admission authority must make the decision on whether or not to accept a pupil outside

their normal age group Those seeking placement outside the normal age group during the

school year should contact the School Admissions Team for advice in the first instance

Guidance on the process can be found at: www.cornwall.gov.uk/admissions or on request

from the School Admissions Team Parents who are refused a place at a school for which

they have applied have the right to appeal to an independent admission appeal panel

They do not have a right of appeal if they have been offered a place and it is not in the year

group they would like

Home address

Each child can have one registered address only for the purposes of determining priority

for admission and transport entitlement The admission authority or Cornwall Council

acting on behalf of the admission authority may require evidence of a current or proposed

address where this is necessary to determine priority for a place or required as part of the

school’s admission arrangements Evidence of a current or proposed address will also be

required if it is necessary for Cornwall Council to determine the nearest school with a place

available or for the admission authority to add the child to a waiting list where one is held

Evidence of a proposed address would be in the form of written confirmation of a house

purchase or a formal tenancy agreement The home address should be the place where

the child is normally resident or will be normally resident

Exceptional circumstances in relation to the provision of a home address will be considered

on a case-by-case basis If there is shared residence of the child or a query is raised

regarding the validity of an address, Cornwall Council will consider the home address to be

with the parent with primary day to day care and control of the child Residency of a child

may also be clarified through a child arrangement order where it is shown who has care of

the child Evidence may be requested to show the address to which any Child Benefit is

paid and at which the child is registered with a doctor’s surgery

It is expected that parents will submit only one application for each child - any disputes in

relation to the child’s home address should be settled before applying The admission

authority will not become involved in any parental disputes, if agreement cannot be

obtained before an application is made then parents/carers may need to settle the matter

through the courts Where no agreement is reached or order obtained the admission

authority will determine the home address Please note the additional information under

‘Fraudulent applications’ and the ‘Privacy Notice’ within this booklet in relation to

providing a home address

Shared parental responsibility – duplicate and disputed applications

Only one application can be processed for each child and only one offer of a school place

made Disputes on the preferred schools by those with parental responsibility or a dispute

relating to a requested school change should be settled between the parties, neither

Cornwall Council nor the admission authority will become involved in any parental

disputes

If a person with parental responsibility submits an application that is disputed by another

person with parental responsibility, or more than one parent submits an application within

the processing timescales and those applications have different preferences, Cornwall

Council may ask for proof of parental responsibility from either party as necessary and

either:

a proceed with the admissions process on the basis of the current application form or

one of the application forms, taking into account the home address, the living

arrangements and other factors including what is considered to be in the child’s best

interests; or

b advise the parents that the application/s cannot be processed until they reach

agreement or obtain a court order and that a new application will need to be

submitted when the matter is settled

Information relating to or supplied in an application form will not be shared with a person

that does not have parental responsibility Basic information (i.e application date and

preferences) may be shared with someone with parental responsibility when it is

established that they have a right to the information

Fraudulent applications

Please note that if you make a false statement or omit any relevant and appropriate

information in your application you could be subject to investigation and may

potentially face criminal proceedings The information you supply in the application

may be shared, as the law allows, for the purpose of preventing and detecting

fraud

The offer of a school place may be withdrawn if the application is found to be

fraudulent You must notify the Council immediately of any change in your

circumstances – failure to do so or providing false or misleading information may

lead to prosecution action being taken against you

Cornwall Council may request evidence where it is alerted to potential false

statements Any concerns about the validity of the information provided may lead

to investigation and applicants could face criminal proceedings in addition to the

withdrawal of the offer of a school place

The allocation process

When to apply

You can apply for a change of school up to and not more than eight school weeks in

advance of a school place being required (twelve school weeks for Service Families) The

deadline for applications is midnight each day You will not be able to apply using the

online application system more than eight school weeks ahead (twelve school weeks for

Service Families) and any paper applications received before this date will be withdrawn

and the applicant notified

Processing timescales

Applications will, as far as possible, be processed within twenty school days However, at

busy times of the year, in particular in the summer term, processing timescales may take

more than the twenty school day target to process Parents/carers should consider this

and submit an application as early as possible – up to eight school weeks in advance

(twelve in the case of Service Families)

Applications which fall under Level 2 of the Fair Access Protocol

(www.cornwall.gov.uk/fairaccess) will be handled outside the normal admissions process

and timescales and you will be advised of the likely timescales once your application has

been received

Allocation of places

The admission authority for the school will determine whether a place can be offered

Where there are more applications than there are places available, the school’s

oversubscription criteria will be used to determine the priority order for places The

oversubscription criteria can be found in full at www.cornwall.gov.uk/admissions or on

request from the school

Where a child is not eligible for a place at any school named on the application form the

child will be allocated a place at the nearest suitable school in Cornwall with a space

available

However, if the child is already on roll at a local school (a school within reasonable

travelling distance of the address for which the application is made) or if the child is

already on roll at a school and the family is not moving house, Cornwall Council will not

allocate another school place and the right of appeal will be offered The child will stay on

roll at the current school and the parent/carer can opt to go on the waiting list of the

preferred school/s or submit an application for an alternative school/s